Andrew Holecek has completed the traditional three-year Buddhist meditation retreat and teaches internationally on meditation, dream yoga, and the art of dying. He is the author of six books, and many articles, including scientific papers on lucid dreaming. Dr. Holecek is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and a concert pianist, with degrees in music, biology, and a doctorate in dental surgery.  He is the co-founder of Global Dental Relief, which serves impoverished children in six developing countries; the founder of the online platform Night Club, which supports the nocturnal meditations, and the founder of the Preparing to Die Institute, a nine-month spiritual and practical training program to help with the end of life.

Books:

Dream Yoga: Illuminating Your Life Through Lucid Dreaming and the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep

Dreams of Light: The Profound Daytime Practice of Lucid Dreaming

Preparing to Die: Practical Advice and Spiritual Wisdom from the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition

The Power and the Pain: Transforming Spiritual Hardship into Joy

Website: andrewholecek.com

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Summary and Transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded March 27, 2022

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction of Andrew Holecek

00:04:45 - The Three-Year Meditation Retreat

00:09:08 - The Difficulties of Retreat and Detox Process

00:13:18 - The Tricky Topic of Crazy Wisdom Lineage

00:17:36 - The Ethics of Enlightenment

00:22:14 - The Importance of Morality and Ethics in Meditation

00:26:43 - The Delicate Dance of Balancing Relative and Absolute Vectors

00:30:51 - Digging deep with multiple tools

00:35:04 - Finding Opportunities in Obstacles

00:39:16 - Finding Teachings in Life's Challenges

00:43:47 - The Relativity of Reality and the Burden of Compassion

00:48:11 - Working with Complexity and Reductionism in Life

00:52:13 - The Irreducible Principles of Life

00:56:28 - The Utter Immediacy of Enlightenment

01:00:57 - Balancing Both/And Perspective

01:05:01 - Skillful Means for Different Levels of Identity

01:09:26 - Maintaining Lucidity in Sleep and Dreaming

01:13:36 - Lucid dreaming and its transformative power

01:18:08 - Lucidity and the Power of Light

01:22:45 - The Stages of Dream Yoga

01:27:21 - The Fruition of States: Turiya and Beyond

01:31:52 - The Addiction to Transcendent States

01:35:48 - The Integration of Science and Spirituality

01:40:06 - The Balance of Spiritual Experiences

01:45:00 - The Importance of Taking it Slow and Seeking Support

01:49:17 - The Golden Chain of Spirituality

01:53:34 - The Ripple Effect of Thoughts on Reality

01:57:58 - The Presence of Kundun, the Dalai Lama's name in Tibetan

02:02:30 - The Difference Between a Lucid Dream and the Waking State

02:06:29 - Similarities between Advaita Vedanta and Mahamudra & Dzogchen

02:10:40 - Guest Suggestions and Closing the Topic